1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an isolation enclosure of the portable, collapsible type, which can operate in a positive or negative pressure mode while maintaining low particle counts throughout the enclosure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While clean air enclosures have been available for some time, the need for an enclosure that would be suitable for patient isolation in a hospital setting has become more acute. The cost of constructing and maintaining an isolation room in a hospital is high and it is often difficult to convert an existing room to an isolation room configuration. Therefore, it has been difficult to justify setting aside a number of rooms which are constructed as isolation rooms.
As of late the rise in communicable diseases such as tuberculous and HIV has greatly increased the need for a portable, easily assembled clean air enclosure which can convert an otherwise ordinary hospital room into an isolation area.
While a clean air Enclosure should isolate the rest of the room and personnel from the patient, it should also provide the patient with a pathogen or virus free environment. This environment is required, where for example, the patient has had a bone marrow transplant and must be protected. A typical enclosure which provides a clean environment is shown in the U.S. Patent to Michael H. Pelosi, Jr. et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,676 but this enclosure is not suitable for certain present requirements, since it is not large enough to house a hospital bed, nor is there visibility throughout 360.degree. of the enclosure, nor is it capable of being set up and placed in operation by one person.
What are designated by others as portable clean rooms are available, but they require long set up times of at least four hours, require a number of persons for assembly, and are bulky and difficult to transport. It is desirable to have a clean air isolator that can be readily transported, and set up by one person, in minimum time, at isolated locations, and without separate sources of clean air.
The apparatus of the invention provides a clean air isolation enclosure with both positive and negative pressure modes, that can be transported and set up by one person, with multiple advantages not available with other structures.